US: Cloudy skies over its Florida landing site yesterday forced Nasa to postpone the return to earth of space shuttle Discovery, prolonging by at least a day the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Flight directors tried twice to bring Discovery back to earth after 13 days in orbit but decided the weather was too unpredictable to be sure shuttle commander Eileen Collins would have a clear view of the 4.8km canal-lined runway at the Kennedy Space Centre.
"We regret not getting you guys home today but we feel pretty confident about tomorrow," astronaut Ken Ham radioed from mission control in Houston to the Discovery crew.
"Well, you guys made the right decision and we're with you," replied Ms Collins. "We're going to enjoy another day on orbit and we'll see you on earth tomorrow." Barring emergencies, Nasa will only land the shuttle if there is at least 8km of visibility for the approach to the runway and no rain, lightning or thunderstorms within 56km.
Nasa has several chances to land the shuttle today, including opportunities in Florida at Irish time 10.07am or 11.43am or at 1.12pm at the primary backup site in California.
Ms Collins planned to tweak Discovery's orbit slightly so that if the shuttle had to land in California, it would not fly over Los Angeles. Since the Columbia accident, which showered debris over Texas and Louisiana when the ship broke apart in the air, Nasa tries to avoid flying over heavily populated areas in case of another accident.
Shuttle programme deputy manager Wayne Hale said Nasa would also staff its backup landing site in New Mexico. The ship has enough supplies to safely stay in orbit until tomorrow, if weather or technical issues prevent landing today. - (Reuters)